Birdon America, Inc., announced that, the United States Coast Guard exercised “Option Order 1” for Birdon’s 47’ Motor Lifeboat (MLB) Service Life Extension Program (SLEP) contract. This modification extends the term of the contract through Order Years 6-10 and will allow up to another 72 MLBs to receive significant overhauls and upgrades. In 2019, Birdon was awarded a 10-year contract to perform a 20-year service life extension for the U.S. Coast Guard’s 47’ Motor Lifeboat fleet and extend the useful life of the fleet through 2047. Since contract award, Birdon has established full-rate production facilities on both the East and West coasts to facilitate a bi-coastal delivery process.
“The unilateral contract modification speaks to the Coast Guard’s confidence in Birdon’s abilities as a major contractor,” said MLB Program Manager Patrick Kinser. “We are fully committed to continuing to deliver high quality boats on schedule to operational units on both coasts.”
To date, Birdon has delivered nineteen 47’ MLBs to operational units, with another nineteen 47’ MLBs currently undergoing SLEP. With the July 25 modification, up to 117 total vessels can be delivered through 2029 from Birdon’s Bellingham, WA and Portland, CT facilities. The 47’ MLB is the Coast Guard’s primary search and rescue platform, and as an all-weather fast response vessel, they are used to patrol vast areas of the country’s coastline. These vessels are designed to operate in surf up to 20 feet, heavy weather with seas of 30 feet combined with 50 knot winds, and are rollover capable, meaning that if capsized, the vessels self-right and can continue operations.
Birdon is a diversified global group of companies providing whole of life solutions to the maritime, military and resource sectors. The Birdon Group has operations across the United States, Australia, Europe, and Asia.Established in 1977 in Port Macquarie, New South Wales, Australia, Birdon is a proudly family-owned company, with a strong track record of success and commitment to industry leadership across each of its business divisions. Birdon expanded to the United States in 2009 and established our headquarters in Denver, Colorado. Birdon has four main business divisions in the United States: Marine Ship Building and Repair; Disposals; Engineering; and Marine Propulsion.
